International Journal of Environmental Science and Development

Abstract—Fluorescent lamps (FLs) have been widely used in Thailand due to the energy saving policy in the past. This has led to a large amount of mercury (Hg) flows and stock in Thailand. Mathematical Material Flow Analysis (MMFA) was applied to estimate the Hg flows and stock through FLs in Thailand, based on data in the year of 2010. The results showed that around 526 kg of Hg was imported for FL production and 43 kg of Hg was imported with FLs, whereas 7 kg was exported with FLs. Hg was stocked in use around 1,100 kg. The results also showed that about 474 kg of Hg in FL waste was sent to dispose of or to recycle. Hg was released in the environment from FL production, use and the disposal stage at around 562 kg, with 84% going to land, 12% to air, and 4% to water. The scenario analysis in this study showed that limiting the Hg content of FLs to 2.5 mg per lamp has a high potential for reduction of Hg emissions, and that the replacement all FLs with light-emitting diode (LED) is a feasible strategy to reach Hg zero emission.

Index Terms—Emission, fluorescent lamps (FLs), material flow analysis (MFA), mercury.

Manaporn Wongsoonthornchai and Suphaphat Kwonpongsagoon are with the Department of Sanitary Engineering, Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand. They are also with Center of Excellence on Environmental Health and Toxicology (EHT), Bangkok, 10400, Thailand (e-mail: manaporn.w@gmail.com, suphaphat@hotmail.com).
Ruth Scheidegger is with Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dubendorf 8600, Switzerland (e-mail: ruth.scheidegger@eawag.ch)

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Cite: Manaporn Wongsoonthornchai, Suphaphat Kwonpongsagoon, and Ruth Scheidegger, "Assessment of Mercury Flows through Fluorescent Lamps and Potential Reduction Scenarios in Thailand," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development vol. 7, no. 5, pp. 340-345, 2016.